The disorders began shortly after sundown Friday and continued intermittently through the night and all day Saturday, exploding into a barrage of bottle and rock throwing by Orthodox elements when the Sabbath ended. The issue, as on the previous occasions, was the closing of Hashomer Street, a major traffic artery which passes through non-Orthodox and Orthodox neighbourhoods.
An agreement appeared to have been reached two weeks ago between the Orthodox and non-Orthodox communities to permit local traffic on the thoroughfare during the Sabbath. But police who pened the barriers to cars belonging to residents or their visiting friends or relatives, were assaulted by Orthodox youths.
Police, trying to keep the crowds in check were shoved, punched and hit by stones. The favourite missile was bottles thrown from windows. Last week, the trouble in bnei Brak was sparked b non-Orhtodox youths from outside the area. This week, the Orthodox were the aggressors. Some fist-fights broke out with non-Orthodox Jews but the main target war was the police. They were called “Nazi” by the Sabbath observers who claimed the police acted provocatively.
Police chief Moshe Tiomkin said he was appalled. “We come here to protect people and we become the victims of the situation,” he said as he left the street in disgust late last night.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
